


We All Have Our Demons

by orphan_account



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Demon Shane Madej, Enemies to Friends, Eventual Smut, Flirting, Friends to... well I guess you’ll have to read to find out ;), Goatman’s bridge, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Kissing, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Ryan Bergara & Demon! Shane Madej, Ryan is a vlogger, Ryan is bisexual, Ryan needs a hug, Shane is gay, Slow Burn, kind of, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:21:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27663295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: When Ryan goes out alone to film on Goatman’s bridge looking for evidence of the supernatural, he finds something much worse than a few spirit box noises and a rickety bridge laden with lies about its past. What will happen when he finds the evidence he never wanted to see, and meets someone that will change his life forever? Ryan must do the impossible: Not only face his greatest fear, but take it’s hand and walk into hell with it. Luckily, his greatest fear may not be so evil after all.
Relationships: Ryan Bergara & Shane Madej, Ryan Bergara/Shane Madej
Comments: 4
Kudos: 47





	1. Goatman’s Bridge

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I hope you enjoy my story, I wrote it at like 2am a few nights ago. Reminder that this is an AU and doesn’t represent my actual thoughts on the boys :)

It was the last location of the week, and Ryan was completely exhausted. He was tired of doing research, tired of carrying around equipment, and if he had to walk into another haunted house with no one but his spirit box to talk to, he was going to go insane. Yesterday was the Sally house, and he almost passed out from fear when his flashlight started flickering. Today... well, today was something a little bit different. Rather than a building, the place he was filming at was an isolated area called “Goatman's Bridge”. The drive there was dark and quiet. Every mile he drove away from his house made him hate himself a little more for deciding this was a good idea. Ryan tried to turn on the radio to calm himself down, but the only songs playing were halloween and horror related (he supposed that was his fault for filming on October 29th). Thriller, though catchy, wasn’t doing much to slow down his rapid heart. He switched off the radio and listened to the wind going past his car instead, and the whispering of the trees as he drove past. He really hoped it was just trees whispering in those dark woods.  
  


Finally, after what seemed like hours of driving, he saw the faint glow of the illuminated bridge ahead. He let out a long sigh, a mixture of relief for finally being able to stretch his legs, and total dread for what he was about to do. Grabbing his equipment (which was really just a video camera and a microphone) he hopped out of the car and approached the bridge. Taking a deep breath, he started recording.

“Hey guys! It’s Ryan, and today we’re doing my _least_ favourite thing. That’s right, this is one of our demons of the season with a truly terrifying name: Goatman! I’m here on Goatman’s bridge, and i’m going to see if the myths are true, or if it’s all just a tall tale that got a little out of control.”

He panned the camera around to show the bridge, then took a slow step onto it. As he did, he couldn’t help but let out a nervous laugh.

“Well, I’m on the bridge, and so far no demons have come out to murder me, so i’ll take that as a good sign.”

It was easier to think once he was actually on the bridge, though he still felt as though he could melt into a puddle of pure terror at any second. He set out his tools for communicating with the demon, including an ouija board and of course his trusty spirit box. 

“Alright guys, i’m going to use the ouija board to see if anyone’s here with me today.”

With shaky hands, he grabbed onto the planchette and looked at his notes. 

“Ok Goatman, here’s my first question. Just move the little wooden thing that I'm holding onto to yes or no for this. Is Goatman your real name?”

He nearly dropped the planchette when he felt it actually start to move under his hands, but he somehow managed to keep his grip despite his hands shaking so hard he thought they might just fall off his arms. The planchette slowly shifted up until, to Ryan’s complete shock, it actually landed on “NO”.

“N.. no? That’s not your.. your real name?” Well can you spel… spell it out for me then?”

He knew he sounded like an idiot stuttering over every word, but he figured his viewers would forgive that in light of him communicating with an actual _demon._

“Goatman” doesn’t respond, so Ryan just figures that’s above the demon’s capabilities and reaches over to grab his spirit box instead. When he turned around again, there was a man with black eyes sitting in front of him.

Ryan shrieked and, acting out of pure instinct, reached for the nearest weapon he could find. He got hold of a heavy flashlight, swinging it as hard as he could at the man’s head. Rather than dodging it, the black eyed man just grabbed the flashlight, stopping it in its tracks.

“Hey hey hey, calm down now buddy! You said you wanted to know my name, and I figured it would be easier to tell you in person than to try and spell it out on that useless piece of junk” he gestured to the ouija board. “Anyway, this is what you _wanted_ , wasn’t it? I’m your evidence! Why are you trying to attack the only evidence you have that proves demons are real, you dummy?”

He yanked the flashlight down, bringing Ryan (who was still clutching onto it like it was the only thing keeping him tethered to reality, which it kind of was) to the ground. They faced each other on opposite ends of the ouija board, one cool as a cucumber and the other on the verge of a heart attack.

“Wha.. but- how.. what the hell? You’re a demon? I’m talking to a DEMON?! Wait, but if you’re a demon, why do you look so…so human? Where’s your… I don’t fuckin’ know, black wings and devil horns?” Ryan stuttered out, his brain not quite caught up to what was happening yet.

“Because obviously i’m not going to come out and show you my true form! That’s demon etiquette 101, haven’t you done _any_ research on us? If I did show you my true form, your eyes would probably light on fire or some biblical shit like that. I don’t know, I've never actually tried it on a human before.”

Ryan still looked both extremely terrified and absolutely flabbergasted at what was happening in front of him. 

“Listen, man, I’m not a malicious creature or anything like that, okay? Sure, I’ve got a few demonic tendencies that aren’t too healthy, and I may have pushed a couple annoying tourists off my bridge, but i’m really not a bad guy. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of evil demons out there, I just don’t happen to be one of them. Does that ease your little human brain at all?”

“Does that ease **…** what the hell is happening?? So you’re a demon, but you’re not a BAD demon, because that totally makes sense, and you showed yourself to me because you were too lazy to write your name on a ouija board? What the actual fuck?!”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.”

Ryan shook his head, eyes wide, and his mind flashed through all the things you’re supposed to do if you happen to encounter a demon. The first thing that popped into his head was splashing it with holy water, which (in theory) burns a demon's skin. He quickly reached into his bag beside him and grabbed his holy water that he brought along (just in case) then flung the clear liquid at the demon. It hit him in the face, but he looked more annoyed rather than in horrible, agonising pain.

“What was that for?! Wait… was that holy water? That doesn’t actually work against demons, you know. I don’t know who started that myth, but I really hope they end up with me in hell so I can.. educate them.

Ryan put his head in his hands, his mind going completely blank as reality finally hit him like a truck.

“I’m on a bridge in the middle of fucking nowhere, surrounded by “demon proof” weapons that don’t work, talking to _Goatman_. I think I've finally lost it. I knew I should’ve skipped this location.”

“Well, if it helps at all, my name’s not actually Goatman. It’s Shane. Goatman’s just my alias… it’s kind of like a weird nickname that the other demons gave me.”

“Oh, even better. The demon's name is _Shane_.”

Shane laughed at this and grinned as Ryan attempted to collect himself, only to accidentally drop his flashlight, popping the battery pack open. They both watched as the batteries tumbled out of the flashlight and out over the bridge, plunging the two into complete darkness. All that could be heard was Ryan’s rapid breathing, and Shane tapping his fingers on the wood of the bridge.

“Listen,” Shane said from behind Ryan’s head. He smirked as Ryan jumped, swinging his head wildly from left to right, trying to figure out where the demon was standing. 

“We can stay here and do this all night, or I can show you something that’ll really make for great evidence. Isn’t that what you came here for? Evidence?”

In Ryan’s panic, he completely forgot about the camera. He noticed it was still recording, and wondered what his subscribers would say when they saw him talking to an actual demon. _If he made it out of here alive to post it._ That thought snapped him back to the present, and he realized Shane had asked him a question.

“Uh.. evidence? What kind of evidence?”

“Well, for one, I could give you your very own personal tour of Hell. No dying required. Now THAT would make for an interesting vlog.”

“No. No way. There’s no fucking way i’m going to go to _Hell_ just for some evidence. I already have video proof of you, that’s all I came here for. Anyway, how would I get there without dying first? Isn’t that kind of the whole point of Heaven and Hell, to have somewhere to go _after you die?_ ”

“Well, technically, yes,” Shane said from in front of Ryan, grinning as the smaller man jumped backwards. 

“Stop fucking doing that! How do you move so fast? I didn’t know demons could teleport!”

“We don’t teleport. We’re just much, _much_ faster than humans. There’s a lot you people don’t know about us, Ryan. Anyway... back to the point at hand. I’ve found a loophole. A two way ticket to Hell and back, no scams or tricks involved. Just grab my hand, and I’ll take you there. Trust me, it won’t hurt a bit, and you’ll be back on Earth before you know it.”

“I’m not taking your fuckin-“

“Ok, too late. It’s time to go.” Shane said, grabbing onto Ryan’s hand. Before he could yank his hand away, the demon whispered something, a strange chant in a language Ryan had never heard before. His vision started to blur, until his world was just a swirl of red and black. He passed out, thumping onto the wooden bridge.

When he woke up, everything was on fire. 


	2. Highway To Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan becomes the first human ever to go into hell alive. Congrats, Ryan! Hope you don't die!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This chapter is a bit longer than the last one so buckle up your seatbelts and grab some popcorn. Hope you enjoy!

_ Am I dead? _

The world spun around him, red like a fresh bleeding cut, blazing with fire yet dark as a midnight sky. Ryan felt as though he had stepped into a sauna with the steam turned up too high. He blinked and the world started to come into focus, yet everything was still wrong. Where was he? What language was the radio speaking in? Why was he in a car going 200mph down a highway, surrounded by roaring flames and barren landscapes?  _ And who the hell was driving?  _ In a panic, Ryan looked to his left and saw a man sitting next to him. As soon as he saw his face, everything clicked. That man with the black eyes,  _ Shane,  _ had taken him to hell (without his consent, he might add) and now.. well, now he was the newest member of the underworld. He felt a sudden desire to hit the demon sitting comfortably next to him, make him pay for what he’s done. Ryan’s never been a violent person, but it seemed justified in this case. Right as he was raising his hand to give the demon a good slap across the face, Shane turned to look at him. He quickly lowered his hand and looked out the window.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Shane murmured, eyes back on the road.

“I didn’t do anything,” Ryan replied, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“No, but you thought about it. Do you really want to get into a fight with a creature who could kill you without raising a finger? Not that I would, I’ve never liked the whole murder thing. But you get the point.”

Shane just threw so much new information at Ryan, he didn’t even know where to start.

“Wait, you can read my mind? That seems like a huge invasion of privacy.”

“No, I can’t read your mind, but I can read your feelings, and you were feeling a whole lot of anger and frustration right then. That usually leads to someone getting punched.”

Ryan nodded at this, feeling slightly relieved that the demon couldn’t read his exact thoughts. He was saying a lot of things in his mind that Shane might not think too kindly of.

“Shane, am I dead?” Ryan asked softly, staring out the window to hide his building panic. He didn’t want to be a spirit, or a ghost, or whatever you became when you entered hell. He just wanted to go home and see his cat again, talk to his friends, maybe take a long nap.

Shane laughed. “Of course you’re not dead. I told you, this is a  _ two way  _ ticket. I’ll get you home, I just… well, honestly, I just needed someone to talk to for a while.

“Can’t you just talk to another demon?” Ryan asked, looking over at Shane.

Shane glanced at him. “Well, yes, but all they ever want to talk about is murder and mayhem. They’re always going on about their favourite places to haunt on earth, and how many humans they’ve killed. I got tired of it after a while. I like humans; they can be dumb, and they’re so fragile and helpless, but they have courage and kindness. They always tell the most amazing stories, if you bother to listen.”

Ryan glared at him. “I am not  _ fragile  _ or  _ helpless. _ I can defend myself just fine, thank you very much. I’ve never lost a fight!”

Shane looked over at him, something akin to fondness in his eyes. “Very impressive, Ryan, very impressive. But keep in mind, you’ve never fought against a demon. They don’t play fair. You don’t want to provoke them, trust me.”

“I don’t know man, you look pretty scrawny. You’ve got long limbs, but there's no muscle on those bones.”

Shane grinned. “I almost think you’re  _ trying  _ to rile me up. If you want to fight me, Ryan, we can fight. You just have to wait until we get to my house. Actually, that would make as good footage for your little video, wouldn’t it?”

Ryan’s eyes widened. He completely forgot about his camera. He snatched it from the back of the car and clicked it on, getting footage of the fiery plains rolling past them.

“Where are we, anyway? Why is everything on fire? And why are you driving so fucking fast?” Ryan asked, turning the camera so it was facing Shane.

“I call this the Highway to Hell. Technically, it’s called Highway 666, but I really like the song. It’s actually illegal to drive slower than 200mph, isn't that crazy? There’s hundreds of crashes everyday, but I suppose it doesn’t matter to anyone driving; it’s not like you can die twice!”

Ryan nodded thoughtfully. “You say it’s illegal to drive slower than 200mph, does that mean Hell has a jail?”

“Well of course it does!” Shane said, smiling at Ryan. “Hell has everything and more that your human world has. Banks, Cafes, bookstores.. You name it, and hell, we’ve got it. You need a lot of entertainment when you’re here for eternity, you know.”

Ryan was about to ask something else, but he was interrupted by Shane suddenly screeching to a stop.

“Holy shit Shane, a warning would’ve been nice! You could’ve killed me!”

Shane smirked. “Like I said before, you humans are fragile. But don’t worry, these cars are designed to make stops like that. You won’t go flying forward; if the seatbelts are strong enough to hold a demon down, they can hold you down too.”

Ryan sighed, glaring at the demon. “Why’d we even stop?”

“Look out your window.”

Ryan turned in his seat and gasped as a huge house loomed over them. It was designed like a Victorian mansion, with the outside of the house coated in blood red paint.

“Jesus, is this your house?”

“No, Jesus moved out of here a long time ago.”

“Shut up Shane, you knew what I meant. This place is huge! You must live with loads of other people. Or demons. Whatever.”

“Nope, got this whole place to myself. There used to be more demons here, but other demons tend to find me a bit.. off putting, with my love of humans and such. They still visit from time to time, but no one else lives here with me.” 

Ryan stepped out of the car with his camera focused on the house, zooming in on the especially stunning bits of architecture. Once he got all the shots he wanted, he put his camera down.

Ryan looked at Shane, and he knew Shane could see the excitement shining in his eyes; he didn’t have to look into Ryans mind to know what he wanted.

“You want to go inside, don’t you?”

Ryan grinned and nodded his head. Shane laughed at his reaction; he was so scared just a few minutes ago yet now he’s eager to enter the demon's house. What a strange man he was. Shane walked to the front door, beckoning Ryan to follow. He opened it and Ryan’s eyes widened as he took in the house. It was somehow even more extravagant and beautiful than the outside. He stepped inside, marveling at even the most mundane things. 

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Shane said, smirking down at Ryan.

“Oh no, not impressive at all.” Ryan said, but his tone of complete awe betrayed him.

“Alright, you can film whatever shots you need in here, and after that, we can stage a fake fight so you have footage of a demon ‘attacking you’.”

At this, Ryan’s head shot up from where he was examining a skull on a bookshelf.

“Woah, I don’t know if I trust you enough for that. You said it yourself, demons can kill humans without raising a finger. How do I know you won’t end up throwing me a little too hard, or you won’t get too excited and, I don’t know, set me on fire or something?’ Ryan asked nervously, glancing down at the skull again as he talked. “I mean, what if I end up like this guy?” 

He held up the skull, and Shane chuckled.

“First of all, that skull is fake. I just have it so other demons respect me a little more. Second of all, I’m not going to kill you. How many times do I have to repeat myself, Ryan? _I’m_ _not going to kill you._ You don’t have to be so on edge all the time.”

“Well I’m sorry if I seem a little concerned, Shane, but demons aren’t exactly known to tell the truth. It’s not that I  _ think _ you’re going to kill me, but I mean, you’re a demon, man. It’s hard for me to believe anything you say is true.”

Shane sighed, then glanced over at the camera. The little red light was flickering, meaning it was still recording.

“Well how about we do a little exercise in trust then, Ryan? I’ll prove I don’t intend to kill you, and you get the footage you want.”

“Wait, wha-”

Before Ryan could finish his sentence, he felt his body move without his will, pushing him towards the wall. He slammed into it, knocking the breath out of his lungs. He tried to move himself away, but his arms were pushed back to his side by an invisible force. Shane walked towards him, calm and relaxed, as Ryan’s breathing bordered on hyperventilation. 

“Ryan, calm down.” Shane said. His voice was soothing, but his eyes were dangerous, sparks of flame that flared up as he looked down at Ryan. Ryan closed his eyes and forced his breathing to slow down. As soon as it did, he felt his legs buckle underneath him, and the force that was controlling him pushed him down onto his knees. He looked down at the floor, scared to look up, scared to see Shane’s dark eyes staring into his soul. 

“Look at me.”

Ryan slowly raised his head, looking into the demons black eyes.

“I could kill you right now. I could hurt you, throw you against the wall again, cut off your air supply and watch as you choke. I could do it all without raising a finger. But I won’t. I’m not like the other demons here, Ryan. I don’t want to kill you. I don’t want to see you suffer. You need to know that.”

Ryan didn’t say anything. He just looked up at Shane with wide eyes, still trying to keep his breathing under control. After a few seconds of eye contact, Shane sighed and Ryan felt the weight that was holding him down suddenly release. He sprang to his feet, glaring at Shane.

“What the hell! I wasn’t prepared to do the fight scene, you should’ve told me first! And you didn’t need to throw me against the wall so damn hard, a gentle push would’ve done the trick just fine!”

“I’m sorry Ryan, I just really needed to prove a point. I mean, you’re still alive, aren’t you?”

This time it was Ryan who sighed, huffing out an annoyed puff of air. 

“Yes, I’m still alive. Thanks for not killing me, I guess.”

They both looked at each other for a few seconds. Shane started to chuckle, realizing the absurdity of the situation. Ryan smiled too and after a few seconds, he couldn’t help but let out a little giggle, the strangeness of this whole situation finally starting to hit him. They looked at each other again, made brief eye contact, and immediately both burst into hysterical, unexplainable laughter. Shane held his stomach and Ryan fell onto the couch and all the tension that was in the room seemed to fly out the window as they both completely lost it. There was no real reason why they should be laughing, but that somehow made it even funnier. 

“Oh my god, my ribs hurt,” Ryan said after a few minutes. 

Shane let out one last snort and shook his head. 

“Hey, you wanna get some McDonalds?” He asked, grinning as Ryan's face lit up again.

“You have a McDonalds?!”

Two Big Macs and large fries later, they were sitting on the couch watching Hereditary.

“Man, I haven’t had that much fun in centuries.” Shane said, mostly to himself. Ryan looked over at him in shock.

“Centuries? Shane, just how old  _ are _ you?”

“It’s never polite to ask someone’s age, Ryan” Shane said, winking at him. Ryan rolled his eyes and turned back to the movie just in time to see another person get possessed.

“Ugh, this movie always freaked me out. I hate the thought of being possessed; being able to see yourself hurting and killing people but not having control of your body to stop it. Can you possess people? Or is demonic possession another myth?”

“Technically, yes, but I’ve never tried it. I don’t understand why demons enjoy doing it, it feels so strange to control a body that isn’t your own. Wearing someone else's skin isn’t a pleasant feeling,” Shane replied.

Ryan nodded. They fell into an easy silence, the only noise coming from the TV in front of them. Ryan glanced over at Shane. Strangely, he didn’t feel as scared of him as he did before. Shane didn’t really seem like a demon. Other than the black eyes that came out when he got riled up, and the supernatural strength, and of course the unconventional location of his home, he just seemed like a regular 20 something year old guy. If Ryan met him under different circumstances, they might’ve even become friends. God knows Ryan needed some of those. He pretended people were going to look for him, miss him, but in reality, who would? The only people he really interacted with were the people who watched his show, and lately even those numbers were dwindling. At least when he got back, the footage from this would most likely make him famous. Everybody would love him.. but nobody would like him. He’d still be as lonely as he was before all this.

“Hey Ryan, you good? You look a little panicky over there.” Shane said, and Ryan realized his breathing had quickened without him realizing it. If Shane hadn't said anything, he might’ve fallen into a full blown panic attack.

“Yeah, sorry, I was just kind of thinking about.. stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?” 

“It doesn’t matter, Shane, okay? Let’s just keep watching the movie.”

He turned back to the screen, but he could still feel Shane’s eyes on the side of his head. After a few minutes, Shane finally turned back to the screen, and they watched the rest of the movie in silence. Once it was over, Ryan realized it was pitch dark outside, and he felt like he could pass out at any second. It had been a long day.

He finally broke the silence. “Where am I supposed to sleep?”

Shane looked around, debating something, until he seemed to come to a decision. “How about you just sleep in my room?”

“What? No way! This place is huge! You must have like,  _ at least  _ four guest bedrooms in here!”

“Actually, I have five. But I don’t think that’s a good idea. Demons can sense when there’s a human near them, and if anyone realizes you’re here, they’ll probably try to kill you. That’s why I think it would be safer if you just slept in my room, so I can make sure they don’t get to you.”

Ryan, after hearing the words “demon” and “kill” together, unconsciously moved closer to Shane.

“Yep, that sounds like a great idea to me,” he said. Shane chuckled. “Don’t want those big bad demons to crawl into your room at night, huh?”

“Shut up and show me where the room is” Ryan replied, glaring at Shane. Shane smiled and walked to the bedroom.

“Alright, here we are!”

Ryan looked around. Suddenly, sharing a room didn’t seem like such a big deal, considering the bed was about the size of a fucking football field. Ok, maybe that was a slight exaggeration, but it was  _ big. _ Ryan, hit with a sudden surge of exhaustion, immediately gravitated towards the warm looking blankets and silky pillows.

“Woah there bud, not so fast. You can’t go to bed in skinny jeans and a hoodie.”

Ryan looked down at his outfit and realized Shane was right. There was no way he could sleep in this. Shane ruffled through his drawers for a few seconds before pulling out a shirt and some gym shorts.

“I thought demons would have a more… refined taste in style than this. Not that i’m complaining, this is usually what I sleep in anyway. 

Shane laughed and threw him the clothes.

“Well, like I said, I'm not like other demons. I prefer comfort over fashion.”

After Ryan was done changing and getting ready for bed in the bathroom that was as big as his whole fucking apartment on earth, he trudged back to the bedroom and flopped unceremoniously onto the soft bed. 

“God, I’m so tired.” he murmured. He crawled under the covers and watched as Shane flicked off the light and got into the bed on the other side. 

“Goodnight, Shane.” He muttered, already almost completely asleep.

“Goodnight, Ryan” Shane replied, and with that, Ryan’s world went completely dark. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "iM nOt LikE OtHeR DeMoNs, I PrEfeR cOmForT OVeR fAshIon."  
>  It's confirmed, Shane is the demon equivalent of every "i'm not like other girls" girl.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I have more chapters planned, and though I can’t promise anything, I’m trying to upload a new chapter once every week or so. See you then!


End file.
